Movement Is Essential

It’s late winter in Seattle, rainy and cold with some sun breaks. At Kidspace we’ve noticed rapid physical growth of many children since just last fall. Classrooms are teeming with creative energy, children’s physical activity is faster paced and full of laughter and camaraderie. We have lots of great play space indoors and out for the big, expressive play we are seeing. Teachers strive to create daily environments that foster self discovery through active learning.

Children need to move their bodies to learn, to be dynamic participants able to exercise initiative and follow their lively curiosity. We adults are aware of the many health benefits of regular exercise.  We are less familiar with just how fundamental movement is to cognition, social and emotional development and executive function. In the past 20 years neurobiologists and occupational therapists have increased early childhood educator’s’ awareness and understanding of something teachers had known intuitively. Our brains and bodies have an elegant and infinitely complex interdependent operating system. Movement is integral to learning. This is a major reason you see those of us in early childhood education raising strong objection to the trend of more and more “seat-work” style learning activities for Kindergarteners through 2^nd graders and the resulting pressure to use those methods to teach “academic” concepts at the preschool level, too. It is counter to all we know from decades of research and practice in education and human development.

Movement is also a huge stress reducer, and who couldn’t benefit from that?! Moving together  with your children can bring harmony and fun into home routines. A walk around the block after dinner each night can become the best 15 minutes of the day for all family members. Tossing or kicking a ball around the backyard or park, playing chase, dancing in the kitchen together while you all put away groceries or unload the dishwasher. Who can do the funniest yoga pose or hold a statue pose? It needn’t take long and it needn’t be “exercise” or cost anything. Spontaneous or planned, just moving everyday with your kids can bring smiles and reduce stress for all. 

If you'd like to look at some in depth articles about movement's effects upon neural development and learning, click here.

What sort of movement does your family enjoy now? Do you ever "shake your sillies out and wiggle your waggles away"?  What ideas have worked best for your children? Do you swim, bike or ski together? How do you feel about organized sports, movement and dance activities? Please share with us your ideas for family movement together in the comments section.